Colours by The Ordinary

Where I got it: I have heard of this new foundation by The Ordinary about 3 weeks ago when Deciem posted a video on Instagram. Victoria Health’s newsletter did also mention that they will be launching the foundations around the end of March or early April. When I received Victoria Health’s newsletter email that they have been launched, I hopped onto their website and ordered right away. The first lot of shipment arrived on 25/5 (serum foundation in 2.0N) and the last shipment arrived on the 14/6. It took nearly 3 months, but I don’t really  blame them, the demand for these products are over the moon and they do all manufacturing in-house as well! I’m just glad I got mine.

The foundation launch consists of 2 different formulations – serum foundation and coverage foundation (5.70 and 5.90). The difference between these 2 formulations will be explained below.

What I got: I ordered 2 of the Serum Foundation and 2 of the Coverage Foundation from the Colours by The Ordinary. They are all 30ml each and both formulations come in a wide range of shades (21). “The shades are divided into categories: 1 for fair to lighter tones, 2 for medium tones and 3 for darker tones. Each category is then classified further by a second digit from 0 to 3 to indicate depth within each category. Finally, a letter is added to the shade code to identify the undertone: P (Pink) and R (Red) indicate cool undertones for lighter and darker shades respectively. N indicates a Neutral tone; Y indicates a Yellow undertone. Each shade code has a descriptive name as well. For example, 1.2P is Light with Pink Undertones, while 3.0Y is Medium Dark with Yellow Undertones. Three of the shades have an additional letter at the end: S indicates Silver highlights and G indicates Gold highlights; these shades use natural-looking and exceptionally fine dispersions of metallic effect pigments for added highlight. ” taken from Victoria Health’s April newsletter. Check out this foundation guide here.

How I find it: I ordered shade 2.0N light medium and 2.1Y medium in both formulas.

Serum Foundation: The Ordinary Colours Serum Foundations with SPF15 are available in a comprehensive shade range of 21 colours. Serum Foundations are low in viscosity; they offer moderate coverage. The Serum Foundations look natural and have a very lightweight serum feel. Serum Foundations are suitable for all skin types from dry to oily skin.

The serum foundation comes in a frosted plastic bottle with the colour of the foundation shown on the bottle. The plastic pump gets dirty quite easily due to its material and finish, but that doesn’t bother me much. Usually, a serum foundation comes in a glass bottle with a glass dropper, but a pump is actually quite convenient and hygienic as well. It has and SPF of 15 as well, but that is way too low so I will alway wear a sunscreen with at least SPF30.

I love using a smoothing primer under this foundation as it helps the product slide and not sink into pores and lines. A hydrating primer works great too because it prevents these water-like foundations get caught into dry patches or flakey bits. I like to dispense the product onto the back of my hand (1-2 pumps) and then use my fingertips to spread the product on my face. I then use a dense oval brush to buff the foundation in. I hardly need to powder to set the foundation so I just use a setting spray.

As you can see in the photo above, how thin the formula and that it provides light coverage. I do think you can build it up a little to a medium coverage, seeing that the formula is very lightweight, a second layer isn’t going to make you look or feel cakey but I certainly would not recommend thick layers – work with thin, even layers.

Coverage Foundation. The Ordinary Colours Coverage Foundations with SPF15 are available in a comprehensive shade range of 21 colours. Coverage Foundations contain high pigment levels but still offer a smooth finish, which avoids the heavy make-up look. Coverage Foundations have a texture of a lightweight, non-oily cream and are suitable for all skin types including dry skin, oily skin and acne-prone skin. 

The Coverage Foundation packaging looks exactly the same as the Serum Foundation but it just states Full Coverage and the little triangle on the box is a solid triangle, whereas the Serum Foundation is not solid. I was expecting the Coverage Foundation to be a lot thicker and creamier, but when I shook the bottle, the product inside swished around almost like a lotion. The product comes out thicker, but not as thick as your usual full coverage foundation like Estee Lauder’s Double Wear.

The shades between Serum and Coverage Foundation are exactly the same, but it is more pigmented and thicker in texture. As you can see in the hand swatch below, I spread the foundation with my fingertip and it covered a lot more of my skin compared to the Serum Foundation. I also like to use a primer under this and my preference would be either a smoothing primer or a colour-correcting primer. I use 1 full pump of this foundation on the back of my hand and use my fingertips to spread it all over my face. If you use a blending sponge to apply, the coverage will be a lot sheer than using a dense oval brush (i.e Artis brushes). You can also use a flat top kabuki brush or fingertips to buff and blend.

I am quite surprised with the lightweight feel and natural finish on my face. It feels like I’m wearing nothing on my skin and it feels natural to the touch (not even powdery). I would say 1 layer would be medium coverage and you have to use another layer to get full coverage. I usually wear light to medium coverage because that’s how I like to see my face. I have plenty of acne scarring on my cheeks and chin area, enlarged pores on my nose and cheeks as well and uneven skin tone all over my face. I like how the Coverage Foundation looks after most of my uneven skin tone and discolourations as well as some of my smaller pores. I would usually use more in areas of concern like my cheeks and chin area.

Overall: In regards to the packaging is reasonable for its price and I like how you can see the shade in the bottle and that it comes with a convenient pump. I would prefer something easier to differentiate between the formulations though. In regards to the shade range, I only picked up 2 shades, one in the neutral range and one in the yellow range and as you can see the difference is quite big. I think I am much more suited to the neutral shade but I can still get away with mixing the two together in the summer time.

Personally, I love to wear the Serum Foundation if I have to wear it every day to work (I work in an office seeing clients only occasionally), and I will use the Coverage Foundation during the weekend if I’m going out or seeing friends. I prefer a natural look for my skin so most of the time I don’t go for full coverage. During Summer, I like to wear something lightweight and slightly mattifying.

Have you tried any of these foundations? What do you think about them?

Follow me on Instagram (@kittiemui), Pinterest (@kittiemui), Facebook and Snapchat (@kittiemui)!